With the new electronics, the taller guard rails and the usual lick
of paint and hull maintenance, this is quite enough money going
out for one winter season. I just need to put the time in now to
varnish all that wood before the season’s over.
Despite the occasional unexpected cost, 2018 was the best
year of my life to date and the main reason for this was buying
Auriga. I only really feel at home when I am on the boat. There
is something very calming about being on her, in the beautiful
Salcombe estuary. I know I am not alone in this. I think the
80% of me that is comprised of water feels like it’s come home
when I’m back on the ocean.
I love every minute of being on my boat, whether I’m sitting
there watching the little egrets feeding in the shallows, paddle
boarding out into the Bag as the sun sets, heading to a nearby
bay in our mini-RIB tender for some watersports fun, or cruising
along the coast looking for dolphins. It’s a dream come true.
Yes, I am a little surprised by how much money it costs to moorand maintain her, but I am glad I didn’t know this when I
bought her, because I would not have wanted to miss out on the
experience. I think it’s one of the blessings of being a human that
we have no idea what is coming up in the future. Like turning
the pages of a novel, life is unpredictable with a lot of plot twists!
A previous girlfriend said I was a ‘Go Large or Go Home’ kind
of person – and that was before I bought a 60ft boat! She was
right. When I pass on, I’d be quite happy for my epitaph to read:
‘Rob Holmes. Went large. Gone Home’. So I have no regrets at
all about buying Auriga. We are a long time dead, but life itself
is fl eeting and precious.PASSAGE MAKER
Having completed the RYA’s Day Skipper course last autumn,
I have since progressed to the Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster
theory course. To date I have clocked up 850nm, mostly local
coast-hopping to Dartmouth, the Yealm and Plymouth. This
summer as the practical part of my course, we are planning our
fi rst Channel crossing to Guernsey, weather permitting. I am
really excited at the prospect of completing a longer passage
and building up more sea miles and night passage experience.
Later in the summer I am planning to either head back to the
Channel Islands and visit some of the Brittany coast and/or head
over to the Scilly Isles and loop back to Salcombe. To make it
even more enjoyable for me and my children, I recently bought
a three-seater jet ski to live on Auriga’s top deck, which we are
all looking forward to using.
I guess a part of me has always wanted to have a mini
superyacht experience and with Auriga I feel that is achievable.
Once my children have left home, I might sell my house and
Auriga and buy a decent-sized sailing catamaran and head to
warmer climes for a few years. We shall see what the Universe
has in store for me. One thing I know for sure, I am not running
the show here, just going with the tide.
For more info on chartering Auriga, visit http://www.auriga.lifeI love every minute of being in the boat, whether I’m watching
egrets feeding or looking for dolphins. It’s a dream come true
Owning Auriga has
given Rob a fresh
view on life – it’s
the place he feels
most at home
OWNER’S TALE